Gameplay

Prepare to lose sleep

So, you create a few characters (remember, you can control two heroes at once, and two weapons are better than one) and load up a game into the land of Uma. (Unfortunately, Ms. Thurman herself does not make an appearance). You're just going to pop in for a brief game, see some sights, get a feel for what Darkstone is all about. Right right? Wrong. A day later, you'll emerge from your computer lair, bags under your eyes, hair greasy, mouse finger chafed, and start looking for something edible while muttering "I'm really hungry. HELP!"

The quest for the 7 crystals of virtue may not be original (Diabloripoff), it may not have killer graphics (640x480), the sound may suck (suck!), but darned if it isn't addictive. Forget going back to play the game while writing the review - it took me an extra day to even GET TO the review, I was so wrapped up in the game.

Training grounds

Exploring the town

But why?

Well, it's hard to pinpoint, exactly. Perhaps it's my addictive personality. Perhaps it's the huge lands, with multiple dungeons, each with multiple levels. Perhaps it's the multiple concurrent quests - recover the Bard's scroll, while defeating the evil Bad Monster (ok, I don't remember his name), while restoring sight to a blind man. There's always something going on in Darkstone. And of course, there's the ever-addictive level-raising situation. "Gotta kill more monsters so I can get more XP so I can raise more stats so I can kill more monsters . . ." It's like any addictive cycle.

As you progress, you can get not only better weapons and spells, but become usefully proficient in skills. Each character has a different set of these skills, which range from Theft (steal items from NPCs and monsters) to Trade (buy items for less / sell them for more) to Prayer (pray and increase your armor class). The skills not only require money for their training, but you're required to actually make use of the skills before you're allowed to pay for more teaching.

What a hag

Take that!